Best Days
by FiferRose
Summary: A giddy Eames drags a reluctant Arthur to the zoo for a day of fun, or something similar. A/E fluff.


**A/N:****  
General:  
- **No new stories from me in ages, I know! D: SO much is going on IRL. Moving to Florida FTW! :)  
- Title is from Matt White's song "**Best Days**", but Noah & the Whale's "**Five Years Time**" was the original inspiration.  
- This story gave me SO. Much. Grief. The bit about the polo shirt (you'll see) was the first part I wrote. The rest refused to fall into place, and our boys kept angsting all over the place instead of being happy. But, I whipped them into shape, so this is pretty fluffy. ;) **However, there may be an angsty companion(ish) fic to this. Maybe.**  
- Check out my list of **Recommendations, Pt. I** at the bottom. These are all **must-reads**. And when I say **'must-reads'**, I mean you** have to **read them, or you = FAIL. Seriously, it's all **really, really excellent** stuff. Other recommendations coming with my next "Save You" update.  
- Also, go review my story **"Mannequin", **porfavor. It's feeling lonely. ;D

**Warnings:  
**- Fluff! :D Lots and lots and _lots_ of fluff.  
- Lots and lots of dialogue, too.

**Disclaimer:**  
- (sigh)  
- I OWN NOTHING; Nolan is the man. **BUT**, my birthday is next Thursday, and I would _not_ be adverse to finding Mr. Gordon-Levitt all wrapped up for me. Just sayin'... ;)

**ENJOY! :)**

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Eames is behaving in an entirely unbecoming manner, and has been all day. There are various sentient creatures being held captive in these public cages. As if that was not bad enough on its own, Eames is openly gawking at the beings while Arthur gawks at Eames.

"Arthur! Arthur, darling, look at the colors on that one! Have you ever seen anything like it? Looks like he's wearing little rubber gloves!" Eames giggles.

All right, they are looking at monkeys and not people, but still…. This is embarrassing…. But, it is embarrassing in the _best_ _possible_ _way_. Eames is completely giddy, and Arthur has never, in fact, seen anything like it. There is not a single trace of danger in the Brit, not today, and, honestly, it is a beautiful sight.

A reluctant Arthur slides his hands into his pockets and steps forward, neatly hopping over a gooey wad of gum on the worn concrete path, and stands next to Eames. They are on a path over which a fake cave has been erected. It has been made to look like an African safari outpost on the inside, where it is just a bit chilly as the cool breeze meets the dark shade. Outside, though, where the sun shines brightly overhead, the combination is lovely. It is a perfect day for this visit to the local zoo. According to Eames, anyway.

"Tamarin. Family Callitrichidae, genus Saguinus. And this little fellow is Saguinus Midas, a Midas Tamarin."

Eames turns his head away from the small black and yellow monkey that is caged in front of them and stares at Arthur with slightly parted lips. He takes the toothpick he has been chewing on into his fingers before he asks,

"Didn't even have to read the information placard to tell me all that, did you?"

Arthur grins and shrugs his shoulders, and he suddenly looks years younger.

"I read a lot, as a kid. Eventually, you start to learn things. Maybe you should try it," he teasingly adds as he leans sideways and bumps into Eames.

"The reading a lot bit or the learning things bit?"

"Either. Both, actually."

"Hmm. Well, interesting notion, but I think I shall pass. As long as I have you, my little walking encyclopedia, I don't need to learn a single thing."

Eames winks at Arthur, who laughs and replies, "Fine. I'll maintain the useless information file, but it would be nice if you would at least learn how to not burn our coffee everyday."

"Shush!" Eames faux-whispers. He looks around nervously, as though the tea patrol could be hiding behind a safari trunk. "They'll revoke my English citizenship if they hear you with that dreadful 'c-word'. I might be living in America, but I am still British, you know; tea is the only substance I am allowed. Well, the only non-alcoholic substance," he adds as an afterthought.

"Oh, it's not like you stay in one place long enough to worry about citizenship."

"Yeah, well, that's the life of our kind, isn't it?"

Arthur sighs in agreement and scuffs his heel against the pavement. Eames, who is mentally kicking himself for saying anything at all, takes this as a sign to get quickly back on a cheerier note.

"Well, Arthur, what else do you know about these little fellows here?"

He gestures to the small creatures bounding back and forth along walls and tree limbs.

"Um, not a lot, actually. They can jump from the trees to the ground, up to around sixty feet, and it doesn't hurt them at all. And, when the babies are born, usually twins, the father is the one that does the primary caretaking."

"And why, darling, do you retain all of this information?"

"Well, one never knows when he or she may be dragged to the zoo against his or her will. The strangest things come in handy."

"Hmm. Makes me wonder what other nifty secrets you've got hiding up your sleeves."

"Oh, I've got moves you've never seen," Arthur intones.

"Honestly, darling, again with the 'My Best Friend's Wedding' quotes?"

"Hey, you're getting better at that." Arthur reaches his hands above his head to stretch his back. He sighs as the vertebrae pop and crackle in a satisfying way, then drops his hands to tuck his shirt back into his jeans. Yes, jeans. Eames's second brilliant idea of the day.

"Only because we watch it once a bloody week," the Brit states dryly.

"Not even," Arthur defends, voice raising slightly. "Besides, it isn't as if you have room to talk. You've made me watch 'Titanic' so many times that I'm beginning to envy the people that drowned."

"Oh, Arthur, I'll never let go. I promise."

"Seriously?" Arthur scoffs. Eames merely grins again as he stares at the monkeys and then turns to face Arthur.

"Alright, I'm finished with the bats and monkeys now. Shall we go to the aquarium?"

Arthur grimaces and pulls his sunglasses to his eyes, but he stays by Eames's side as they walk up the slight hill leading out of the cave.

"Oh, cheer up, darling," Eames says, slinging one arm around Arthur's shoulders while replacing his glasses with the other. "I've not seen you looking quite this glum since we were nearly tortured in Kuwait."

"If you hadn't shut up, we would have been more than just _nearly _tortured," Arthur says. He halfheartedly attempts to tug out of Eames's grip, but to no avail.

"Oi! I was trying to get us out of there!"

"Yeah, and you see how well that went. I was the one that had to dig the bullet out of your leg while you were passed out. And then I had to give myself stitches so that I didn't bleed out during the subsequent gunfight, which was the third of that day, if you remember."

"Yes, and it really hurt, I'm sure…."

Arthur opens his mouth to reply, but Eames cuts him off.

"Are we going to argue about Kuwait, again, darling? I cannot apologize more thoroughly. Just isn't possible, I'm afraid."

"I don't want another apology. I'm just saying."

"Fine then." The only sounds are of giggling children and sneakers brushing against concrete until Eames speaks up once more, "Look, just tell me what it is about the zoo that you dislike so much."

"And if I do, then we can leave?"

"No," Eames replies, rolling his eyes at how cheerful Arthur sounds when he suggests leaving. "When you tell me, I will then explain to you how you are wrong, and we will stay. After we have visited the farm and the tigers, _then _we will leave. Oh, and after you feed the giraffes. That's a can't-miss, right there."

"Why does it matter, then?"

"I just want to know what you have against the lions, and tigers, and bears…. Oh my!"

"You're hilarious."

"I'm being quite serious, darling," Eames replies. Arthur stares at him for a moment before tilting his head to the sky and sighing. When he looks back down, he gives Eames a look that communicates, '_You asked for it_', and then begins.

"I just don't understand what the big deal is. You get to look at animals that you have seen before, but _wait_!" he says with mock enthusiasm. "Here is something _new_ and _exciting_: these animals are agitated for being encaged while loud and obnoxious hors d'oeuvres pace back and forth in front of them, gawking."

"And that bothers you how? I mean, if you were the one encaged, I'd see your point, but otherwise…. I mean, you're not exactly a paid member of PETA, Arthur."

"Well, how about the fact that it's crowded? You wait in line all morning to gain entrance, and all the while, you're listening to crying children and whining parents and a soundtrack consisting of instrumentals and animal noises. Once you're in, after shelling out fifteen bucks, you have to navigate through multitudes of people that don't even have the common courtesy to get the hell out of your way, no matter how many times you say 'excuse me'."

"Well, that's all part of the adventure, love."

"Part of the adventure? Oh, yeah, sounds like a _blast_ to me."

"You were really hated as a child, weren't you?" Arthur sends him a death glare, but Eames continues after only a slight pause. "Fine. For you, maybe there is no joy. However, for me, I get this entire day with you to myself. Now, while I have no complaints about spending all day locked in our bedroom, oblivious to the world surrounding us, I do enjoy showing you off every now and again. Yeah, it's loud and crowded, but I have the chance to stare at your gorgeous little arse in that pair of jeans you are wearing, and it makes everything else pale in comparison. _Including_ this hideous shirt here that you have somehow coerced me into."

He pulls at the collar, ruffling it.

"Now, what have you to say to that?"

"I… nothing, actually."

"See, even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"I never said you were right, Sean. That was just a nolo contendere, if you will."

Eames pulls at the collar of his shirt again, though this time he does it just because he can, just because it irks Arthur, who can now focus on nothing but fixing the shirt. Again. He steps forward until he is nearly pressing against Eames, who really does not seem to mind the proximity, and in fact, he pulls Arthur closer, ignoring the stares they seem to be drawing from a few families. Eames resists the urge to flip them off, an American custom he has learned to love.

"Alright. So, maybe the zoo is not so bad after all. But the shirt? You're really going to complain? It is a plain green polo shirt, Mr. Eames. How exactly does that constitute hideous?"

"Well, for starters, darling, it's a _plain green polo shirt_! Where's the spice in that?" Eames begins to pull at the shirt yet again, and Arthur smacks his hand away without batting an eye.

"You have enough spice in your life without dressing like a 1970s Colombian drug lord," Arthur says. He finishes patting down the collar and then takes a step back, assessing his handy work, and enjoying a lingering once-over of the man he's never been prouder to call home.

Eames looks quite affronted as he replies, "I resent that."

"As you should," Arthur says, grinning as he begins to walk towards the aquarium building a short distance away. Eames stands still for a moment, slightly shocked at this sudden turn-around, and then begins to follow, pausing as a small troupe of schoolchildren cross his path.

"You know what I find funny, Arthur?" he asks once he has caught up, looking completely serious.

"What's that?" Arthur laughs. As they stand beneath the awning beside the aquarium door, his glasses are perched atop his head. Eames moves his own to hang from his shirt. He blinks as his eyes begin adjusting to the darkness, but he answers Arthur's question, allowing his rarely-used sarcasm to seep through.

"The fact that I used to adore you quite a bit. It is quite an amusing idea, really. Also amusing is the fact that causing me emotional distress seems to put you in a much better mood."

"Aw, did someone get their feelings hurt?" Arthur asks, enjoying this moment far too much for Eames's liking. He lessens the distance between them by taking two steps, and he slips his index fingers into the Eames's belt loops to pull him closer, effectively closing the distance. Eames, mistaking Arthur's intentions, begins to lean in, his lips slightly parted.

"Only slightly," he breathes with a smile.

Arthur leans forward at the same time, and just before their lips touch, he whispers, "Too bad," and then turns and bounds to the door. Eames is rooted to the spot he has been standing in, and he looks even more offended than before. Arthur shrugs and smiles, knowing full well that he has won. As if anyone could stay angry with those dimples flashing about.

"Don't look at me like that, Mr. Eames. You wanted a day at the zoo. Well, here you have it. Now, come on. Let's not keep the sea creatures waiting."

**

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**

A/N:

**- **Sorry. Titanic reference. Couldn't help it. I tried(-ish) to resist. But I just can't let go... ;D  
- I TOLD YOU it was fluffy. ;-P

**Recommendations [Pt. I] (**_**Must-Reads**_**. Seriously, I cannot stress enough how**_fantastic _**these are!):****  
**- Blackbirdox:  
- **Cracking Locks** [Kleenex alert, folks]; _(also: "You Make My Dreams" _[Hall & Oates FTMFW]_, "Only in Our Dreams Can We Truly Be Free" & "Dance With Mary Jane") _**(All A/E)  
**- Zombiegait:  
- **il n'est rien de reel que le reve et l'amour**** [heart-fucking-break alert. ung.] (**A/E)  
**- Tubular Fox:   
- **Melody for a Moment**** [again, heart-fucking-**BREAK** alert, but it's the **best **heartbreak you'll ever have]; _(also: "ABCs of Child Rearing") _**(Both A/E)**  
- VergofTowels:  
**- Play With Me** [ADORABLE. Our favorite team (plus Saito & Fischer, Jr.) as kindergarteners. OH YES.] (**Gen.)**  
- Zeech:  
- **Volatile (A/E)  
**- Claustro-phobia:  
- **The Right Man (A/E, A/A, C/M, C/E)**; _(also: "Flight" __**A/E**__)  
_- Annacat101:  
- **More Beer? (Cobb)  
**- Audley:   
- **This Table Thinks You're Hitting On Me (A/E)**; _(also: "non, je ne regrette rien") _(**A/E**)**  
**- SnowSybaris**:  
- The Griefless Ghost** **[very dark, but just **wow**] **(A/E); **_(also: "Plot, what plot?") _**(A/E)**


End file.
